Resilient Communities and Sustainable Development in Deltas

Dear Colleagues,

Delta regions play a decisive role in global demographic and socio-economic development. A large part of the world population lives in these areas, and they are both nodes of international transport corridors and major global economic powerhouses; as such, they are highly dynamic areas in social and economic terms. At the same time, delta regions are fertile, and they provide unique natural environmental conditions, which need to be protected and taken special care of.

However, delta regions and their specific features are under extreme stress and exposed to very high risks due to climate change and other global environmental and developmental challenges. They are focal areas of climate change with increased risks of natural hazards and increasing challenges (e.g., due to sea-level rise, flooding and drought), and they are areas where sustainable development is especially at stake and sustainability transformations play a special role in order to balance social, economic and environmental requirements.

These facts show that the management of land use in delta regions is not at all easy. Evidence-based decision-making requires inter- and transdisciplinary research, up-to-date information, well-justified forecasting, and case-specific decision-support tools. The highly conflicting interests and demands on land use in such areas require appropriate and well-functioning mechanisms of cooperation and multi-level governance as well as sound and effective urban and regional planning, including nature protection and urban design. Moreover, public participation is crucial to enhance risk awareness among the population, and to foster community engagement in processes of sustainability transformation.

In this context, this Special Issue looks into the actual state of delta regions worldwide. We aim to discuss future challenges and to provide good practice examples of how to enhance resilience and guarantee more sustainable development. More explicitly, in this Special Issue, we want to discuss the following questions: (1) How can communities in delta regions become more resilient? (2) How can this contribute to make delta regions more sustainable?

Papers may address topics including but not limited to:

• Identifying and monitoring vulnerability and risk factors in delta regions;
• Developing science-based forecasting models and scenarios as well as their usefulness for and actual use in decision-making in delta regions;
• Analyzing the role of information technology, virtual reality and artificial intelligence in identifying and coping with vulnerability and risk factors in delta regions;
• Developing resilience-oriented urban and regional planning and development strategies in delta regions, including urban design;
• Fostering the protection of Nature and the environment, and developing effective environmental and landscape planning mechanisms;
• Establishing appropriate cooperation mechanisms and (multi-level) governance models in delta regions;
• Analyzing the role of public awareness and participation in developing resilient communities and enhancing sustainable development in delta regions;
• Analyzing the role of resilience-oriented urban and regional development strategies in sustainable development and sustainability transformation in delta regions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Müller
Prof. Dr. Zhiqiang Wu
Dr. Jiang Chang
Dr. Paulina Schiappacasse
Guest Editors

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